Mecklenburg County (NC) Protects 100 Acres at Mountain Island Lake

CHARLOTTE, NC,11/28/00:One hundred acres on the shore of Mountain Island Lake was conveyed by The Trust for Public Land (TPL) to Mecklenburg County today. The county’s land purchase bonds approved last fall are the source of the county funds.TPL acquired an option on the land from Crescent Resources and subsequently assigned the option to Mecklenburg County.

?”Crescent Resources is committed to a balance between property sold for long-term preservation and land developed in an environmentally sensitive manner, ” said Carla DuPuy, director of environmental affairs. “Both are vital to the well being of our community and its future.”

The Trust for Public Land is a unique national non-profit organization, established in 1972 to act swiftly to preserve critical land for the benefit of people until public funds are available for acquisition. TPL has helped protect more than 1,800 acres of waterfront land in the Mountain Island Lake watershed since 1998.

?TPL acquired the heavily wooded Haymarket tract, which contains one mile of shoreline and three coves, from Crescent Resources for $3 million. Dave Brown, TPL project manager, was the point person on the negotiation and acquisition. TPL also made a $10,000 grant to Mecklenburg County Partners for Parks today for planning and site development on the tract.

Mountain Island Lake supplies drinking water for more than 500,000 people in Gaston, Lincoln and Mecklenburg counties. That’s one-eighth of the total population of North Carolina. The Initiative for Mountain Island Lake is spearheaded by TPL, which has united a diverse group of individuals, local governments, philanthropies and conservation groups with a single goal.

“That goal is to protect the water quality of Mountain Island Lake by preserving the remaining undeveloped lakeshore and major streams,” said Bridgett Thompson, TPL program director.

The program was launched in 1998 when TPL acquired 1, 231 acres from Crescent Resources with a $6.15 million grant from the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund. A year later, TPL acquired the 429-acre Water’s Edge tract, just above the Gastonia and Mount Holly water intake. Last spring, TPL added the 24-acre Hopper tract in Gaston County. In June, the 40-acre Juhan tract was optioned by the trust and then conveyed to Mecklenburg County in September.

Nationwide, TPL has helped agencies and other land trusts to protect more than 1.2 million acres of recreational, agricultural and historical properties—ranging from wilderness tracts to urban greenways and city parks—valued at more than $1.8 billion, in 45 states. For more information, visit the TPL website at www.tpl.org.